What We Think: Seeking better outcomes for children in foster care

The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services has launched a new initiative that could hold a great deal of promise for the thousands of Louisiana children who might otherwise spend their entire childhood in foster care.

The Faith in Families program seeks to limit a child's time in foster care either through adoption or reunification with their families within two years of being removed from their homes. The goal is to reduce the number of children in foster care by 84 percent by 2016.

This is an ambitious and admirable goal. The only reservation we have is that great care should be taken that children are not returned to lives of abuse or neglect.

The plan was born, at least in part, out of the agency's concern for kids who "age out" of the program.

These young people, who may have lived in more than one foster home, turn 18 and are suddenly on their own. No parents to turn to for guidance. No home to go back to if they can't find a job that will support them right away. No safety net at all.

This program, which seeks to give these kids the kind of young adulthood most people take for granted, is long overdue.

Children who age out of foster care are more likely to experience difficulty finding a job or to continue their education than individuals with an established support system, said Trey Williams, a spokesman for DCFS, on Thursday. They are also more likely to rely on government assistance.

For those who are not reunited with their parents, the best options are adoption or a permanent connection to a caring adult, such as a neighbor, teacher or coach, Williams said.

Children in foster care range in age from toddlers to older teens.

Thirty-three percent are 2 years of age and younger, Williams said, and 19 percent of them are younger than 5.

The most easily adoptable kids are younger than 9, he added.

The difficulties of the traditional adoption process are generally well know, as well as the cost. But this program is an exception to the rule.

Prospective adoptive parents - and that includes prospective single parents - are screened carefully, but the high cost of adoption is eliminated. In fact, some families may qualify for a small stipend if they adopt a child.

DCFS is working with faith-based groups, like Our Savior's Church in this area, to recruit people interested in adoption. If such groups are involved, Williams said, some of the church members volunteer to act as a support system for the newly formed family.

An effort is made to reunite children with their families during the first 12 months. If that proves to be impossible, then efforts are geared toward adoption.

But great care is taken, Williams said, to make sure it's safe for the children to return to their parents.

"If it's a situation where it's not safe to reunite a child, we're not going to do that," he said.

We hope not.

While it is important to accomplish the goal of reducing the number of children in foster care, it's far more important to keep in mind that there is a reason those children were taken from their parents to begin with.

Too often, stories come to our attention, either through our own reporting or through other media reports, of children who were returned to homes where abuse continued and escalated, sometimes to the point of tragedy.

It is with that one caveat that we applaud this effort to help children find the stability of a loving home or a mentor to help them begin their lives as young adults.

It is a worthy goal: To reduce the number of young people who turn 18 without a place to truly call home.

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What We Think: Seeking better outcomes for children in foster care

The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services has launched a new initiative that could hold a great deal of promise for the thousands of Louisiana children who might otherwise spend their